"As a young girl it was something I could relate to," she says. "That cinematic black-and-white style of living, very Romeo and Juliet. If you love something dearly and deeply, of course it hurts when it leaves you, and I ain't afraid to show it." But, she adds, "I do understand now that I need to grow out of this adolescent way of thinking."

Not just yet, please. Is she surprised that people around the world have taken to her simple, minimalistic, barely accompanied songs about love? Should we have faith in the good taste of the general population again? "I'm not surprised, as my beliefs in life are that truth, sincerity, and honesty is worth struggling for and that it hopefully shines through in all you do and that you are not alone in that matter. I try to live by Nina Simone's words: 'Don't give people what they want but what they need.' "